GRANT AIDS WAR ON DRUGS

The Schuylkill County district attorney will hire a third full-time
prosecutor and Pottsville police will have the ability to give
officers overtime in the war on drugs thanks to a $449,993 federal
grant, city and county officials said Monday.

Schuylkill Community Education Council "This is a
substantial grant," said District Attorney James P. Goodman, "and it
will go a long way in helping local law enforcement."

The COPS 2007 Methamphetamine Initiative grant is targeting
communities facing significant meth problems. This year, the federal
government awarded 117 law enforcement agencies across the nation a
total of $43.6 million through the program. And the only other grant
this year was awarded to a law enforcement agency in the state, a
$377,965 grant to state police, according to the Department of
Justice Web site.

When asked how Pottsville managed to obtain the grant, U.S. Rep. T.
Timothy Holden, D-17, said, "They identified their problems and
coordinated their efforts to make a full commitment, and the justice
department liked what they said and approved the grant."

The fact that the city busted three meth labs in the past three years
and has continued to aggressively attack the manufacture and
distribution of the product led to the acquisition of the grant,
according to Pottsville police Chief Joseph H. Murton V.

When asked if Pottsville has a meth problem, Murton said, "There's a
meth problem within our county, the state and the U.S. The chemicals
needed to manufacture it are readily available. You can go to a
retail store and basically get everything you need to produce it. No
one has to transport opiates from a foreign country to make it."

William Hocker, public information officer for the Department of
Justice, Philadelphia, said meth problems in Pottsville are the same
as they are across the state.

"Meth is not in epidemic proportions as it is in the Midwest, but it
is creeping toward the East Coast. It is available in Pennsylvania,
all across the state. Pottsville is no different than the rest of the
state," Hocker said. "And by these grants, we're trying to stay one
step ahead of meth taking a foothold in the area."

"I'm not going to say our drug problem is worse, or horrible, but it
is enough to warrant that type of money," said Pottsville police
Capt. Ronald J. Moser. "We obtained this grant because we have
Patrolman Brian Kotzmoyer, who is the grant writer for the
department. He went to several schools on grant writing. And the
chief directed him to write up this particular grant. And he did a
bang-up job on this. And that's primarily how we got this grant."

Holden presented the check to Goodman and Murton at City Hall's
council chambers Monday morning.

"Our law enforcement personnel here in the county are doing an
outstanding job, but as with any municipality or any government,
there are limited resources, so this is an opportunity for the
federal government to identify a problem, recognize it and make the
investment," Holden said.

The county and city jointly applied for funds through the grant
program, which seeks to address the growing problem of meth abuse by
assisting local entities in enhancing methamphetamine reduction
efforts, Goodman said.

In November 2005, the city received a $50,000 grant through the COPS
program, Murton said. And when the city was filling out its
application for the 2007 program, Goodman said city officials invited
his office to take part.

"I think it shows that by teamwork, we can bring dollars back here to
fight the war on drugs," Goodman said.

Holden, the former Schuylkill County sheriff, said, "I'm just very
pleased that the federal government is able to step up to the plate
and be a partner with our local law enforcement officials. I know how
important that is."

Third prosecutor

One way the district attorney's office can further fight the war on
drugs is to have a prosecutor specialize in drug cases, Goodman said.

With that in mind, Goodman said his office will use $190,000 of the
grant to hire a third full-time prosecutor for that purpose.

"It will pay his or her salary and benefits for three years," Goodman said.

A full-time prosecutor's starting salary is about $40,000 a year, he said.

The county had not been planning to hire a third full-time
prosecutor, commissioners Robert S. Carl Jr., a Republican, and
Mantura M. Gallagher, a Democrat, said Monday.

"This was not discussed at the budget hearings," Carl said. "And any
position that's going to be created in Schuylkill County or any
county government, regardless of the funding source, needs to be
approved by the county salary board, which is made up of the
commissioners and the controller."

In the past several years, in an effort to remain fiscally prudent,
the county has not created new positions unless federal or state
assistance was available to support them, Carl said.

"We need to create a lean and mean county government and we're not in
any position to add new positions unless we can find inventive ways
to fund them," Carl said.

"But if he has the grant money to do it, we would be foolish to
refuse the offer," Gallagher added. "This DA's mission has been the
fight against drugs. If he has been able to secure grant money to
protect our children and citizens from drug dealers, it is incumbent
upon us to support him in that effort."

Commissioners Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier could not be reached for
comment Monday.

The district attorney currently has two full-time prosecutors: First
Assistant District Attorney Karen Noon and Assistant District
Attorney A.J. Serina.

"We'll be hiring someone new for this position," Goodman said, but he
was unsure if the position will be advertised.

The district attorney's office also has nine part-time assistant
district attorneys, Goodman said.

Overtime, equipment

The grant will give the city police department, which has 28
full-time police officers, funding for its overtime budget. It will
also allow the department to purchase "equipment" to help the force
fight the war on drugs, Murton said.

Murton, however, would not elaborate on what kind of crime-fighting
tools would be purchased.

"I'm not sure what we want to tell the public about it. As we do get
it, if it's stuff that we believe the public should see, we will have
a press conference and display it and invite the congressman back.
But there's certain equipment we're going to obtain that we don't
want the bad guys to know about. So we're not going to tell the
public exactly what we're buying," Murton said.

Drug task force

"We're also going to purchase some equipment for the Schuylkill
County Drug Task Force. And it's going to allow for overtime for
municipal police officers who are a part of our drug task force," Goodman said.

Goodman would also not elaborate on what equipment would be ordered.